The uranium in the Hiroshima bomb. Shinkolobwe mine. Belgian Congo. The uranium that ended World War II and inaugurated the nuclear age and gave the United States its defining geopolitical advantage for the following decade: Came from African ground. Mined by African labor. Under Belgian colonial administration. The Congolese miners who extracted it had no idea what it was for. They received no benefit from what it produced. The geopolitical order it enabled, American dominance, the Cold War architecture, the entire post-war system under which African independence was managed and constrained: Was built in part on Congolese uranium. And then that same geopolitical order looked at the Congo and saw a country that needed to be guided toward development. The country that provided the material for the weapon that shaped the world was then subjected to the world the weapon shaped. Without acknowledgment. Without compensation. Without a single line in American education connecting Shinkolobwe to Hiroshima to the Cold War to Mobutu to the Congo today. The lines exist. They are documented. They are simply not drawn in the curriculum. Because drawn lines connect causes to effects. And connected causes and effects produce accountability.

This evening in Hiroshima, Deputy Chief of Mission Aaron Snipe had the privilege of hearing the testimony of Hibakusha Ogura Keiko, who was just eight years old on August 6, 1945. Her vivid and deeply moving account is a testament to extraordinary strength and resilience. Thank you, Ms. Ogura, for sharing your story. By listening to voices like yours, we honor the past and reaffirm our commitment to building a more peaceful future.

Japanese-Italian fusion Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki. It layers savory ingredients like cabbage and noodles, is enveloped in an egg, and topped with a deep red sauce and aonori flakes. © japanesefoodcraftsman

After surviving the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, pastor Kiyoshi Tanimoto recorded the destruction he witnessed, and argued that the city had been condemned for Japan’s wartime aggression. Read this insight into his memoir ⬇️

DHM Ms Putniņa attended the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony, joining atomic bomb survivors, families of victims, Prime minister and local and international representatives. A minute of silence was observed at 8:15, the exact time the bomb exploded over Hiroshima 81 years ago.